Tyreece John-Jules made his long-awaited return to the Derby County squad after injury on Saturday, making the bench against Bristol Rovers.

Arsenal’s Tyreece John-Jules went out on loan to Derby in August, but he’s yet to feature significantly for the League One side.

The 22-year-old made cameo substitute appearances for Derby against Peterborough and Bolton Wanderers in his first two games after joining, but he was then ruled out of action with a thigh injury.

After missing almost two months of action, John-Jules returned to training in late October. But it took another month for him to finally make it back into the matchday squad.

John-Jules was named on the bench for Derby against Bristol Rovers on Saturday, his first appearance in the squad since September 2nd.

The forward didn’t end up making an appearance, but it’s another step in the right direction as he continues his recovery.

Derby won the match 2-1, pushing up into the play-off places, and they’ll hope John-Jules can give them a boost in the coming weeks.

The Arsenal loanee may find his best bet at a return to the pitch is in the EFL Trophy, with the competition often used for rotation and Derby set for a match against Fleetwood in just over a week – on December 5th.

From an Arsenal point of view, it’s important John-Jules gets back to full fitness and playing again, after so many injury issues in recent seasons.

John-Jules’ injury struggles are likely part of the reason he only completed a short-term loan to Derby, with the club committing to taking him on until January 2024.

If he hopes to stay beyond that date, the striker will need to have a solid couple of months of football now.